Religion is such a controversial topic and I have postponed writing about it as long as possible. I don’t like taking sides, I don’t want to offend people or belittle their beliefs. But this article is not about the existence of God or the “falseness” in religions around the world. This is not about what I do or do not believe in, this is not about religion or faith, this is about respect.

When I was 12 years old, I went to a youth group every week at a church in my small town. Although the town I grew up in is thought of to be liberal due to the presence of a university, the reality is that it is full of Southern Baptist churches and is laced with conservative values at every turn. Being in fifth grade, I was just starting to ask questions about my faith, which most modern churches encourage from their youth, and even from older members. Asking questions about religion, doubting one’s faith--it’s all a part of the process to reach true belief. But for the last seven years, this specific youth group meeting one Wednesday night has been ingrained in my memory.

We were doing arts and crafts--you know, making a cotton ball Jesus and what not, and our youth group leader, a 40-year-old woman, was talking about heaven and hell, and how you have to believe that Jesus died for your sins to go to Heaven. This didn’t make sense to me because I had learned about all of the people around the world who believed in other religions. So I asked her, “What if someone is never told about Jesus, or believes in a different God because their family told them to?” My youth group leader responded, “Anyone who does not believe that Jesus was the one who died for them goes to Hell, that is why we have to tell everyone we know about Jesus and how he loves us!” This baffled me.

Children around the world who are taught from day one about their own God are sent to eternal Hell? Even if they grow up to be good people who live graciously and show love and kindness? Someone is sentenced to an eternity of pain because of their opinion? To this day I cannot understand or even respect this point of view. Even after the ensuing years of YoungLife and church attendance and thinking I am Christian and going along with the motions because I live in the south and that’s “just what you do," that night has stuck with me and has ultimately been my greatest challenge with religion in my young-adult life.

I could write pages about this topic; it infuriates me when I see people disrespecting other cultures, religions, and beliefs. You can love Jesus without devaluing other beliefs. Someone else can be Muslim/Buddhist/Hindu and can live more like Christ than you do. You believing your religion is the only true one does not make it so. That is why it is called belief--it is not fact, not that you know of. I think faith is a beautiful thing, having faith in a higher power and believing in something bigger than yourself--it’s a great thing to have, but not at the expense of respect.

If someone who practices another religion, worships a different God and reads a different holy book went into a church of Christ and said, “Even though this religion is wrong and the God that Christians worship doesn’t exist, this church sure is pretty!” I have a feeling that would offend you. To you, your God is real. To them, their God is real. Feel free to believe that you are right and they are wrong, but do not disrespect or belittle their beliefs, do not go to their holy land or into their place of worship and invalidate it. Their faith is valid, just as yours is.